The Fair Trade Commission(FTC) will set up an organization early next year charged with countering monopolization in the semiconductor sector. 

FTC Chairperson Joh Sung-wook revealed the plan on Friday during a ceremony marking her 100th day on the job. 

She said the envisioned organization will be established within the commission’s ICT team in the first quarter of next year and will monitor all acts that block market access during the conversion process to fifth-generation(5G) mobile technology. 

The move comes amid concern that certain companies in the semiconductor sector could engage in monopoly practices in the process of converting to 5G. Such practices would include exclusive dealings or forced buying, also known as “tie-in” sales.

The FTC said ensuring competitiveness was crucial in the process of converting from 2G to 4G, adding that it decided to establish the counter-monopolization organization to respond to the potential exclusion of competitors in the conversion to 5G.